X-Men vs. Acolytes
by indigo
Summary: the x-men battle the acolytes....plus a nice little gambit/rogue subplot. I'm sorry, I can't help it, I'm obsessed with their relationship! pls review


***Disclaimer: i don't own any of the x-men and i do not take any responsibility for their actions  
during this fic. hehe***  
Author's Note: this little story was inspired by Christopher Golden, the world's best x-men novel   
writer (check out his coolest works--- Codename: Wolverine and the Mutant Empire Trilogy)  
  
X-Men vs. Acolytes  
  
"Okay, this is not going to be easy," Cyclops began, facing his teammates in the passenger area of  
the Blackbird.  
  
"When is a battle with Acolytes ever easy?" Bobby muttered. Cyclops glared at him and he shrank  
into his seat.  
  
"As I was saying...Our best chance of stopping them would be to launch into an attack the minute we  
step out of the Blackbird. They know we're coming, they just don't know when."  
  
"Any idea which ones, sugah?" Rogue asked softly from where she sat next to Gambit.  
  
"Voght's sure to be there. She's their field leader. Unuscione, Cargil, and Javits, too. Maybe the  
Kleinstocks. Or Senyaka."  
  
"Piece o' cake," Wolverine growled from across Rogue and Gambit. "We're more'n enough for Magneto's  
little lapdogs."  
  
Cyclops looked around at the people gathered there, his friends, his family. Iceman. Wolverine. Rogue,  
Gambit, Beast. Warren. And his beloved Jean. Logan was right, they were more than a match for the  
Master of Magnetism's followers. Even if they were incomplete, the X-Men were highly-trained, and   
worked together like a well-oiled machine. Storm, Bishop, and Psylocke were off on a mission in the  
Shi'ar galaxy, and they were sorely missed by their teammates. But enough dwelling, Cyclops scolded  
himself. Think of the battle ahead.  
  
"Rogue, Wolverine, and Archangel will lead the aerial attack. Jean will get the rest of you down  
to the battleground while I get the Blackbird out of the air. We have to stop them from taking  
hold of the nuclear missiles, but at the same time we need to help get the military men out of the  
base. Their tanks and guns will be no match for Magneto when he shows up."  
  
"IF he shows up," Warren corrected him. "He hasn't shown his face since that little fiasco down in  
Florida, and that was almost 6 months ago."  
  
"Ah, my feathered friend, far be it from us to assume that Magnus has abandoned the Mutant Conqueror  
game once and for all. He is most likely biding his time," came the Beast's eloquent, as always,  
reply.  
  
"So, Cyke, we almost dere?" Gambit asked Scott, who had taken the Blackbird off autopilot and was  
now guiding it toward the Colorado military base the Acolytes had attacked. Warren was seated in the  
co-pilot's chair, eyes locked on the navigation screen.  
  
"Actually, Remy, we are. Just a few more minutes and we'll be over Colorado." He glanced backwards  
at his anxious teammates. "Get ready, people."  
  
*Scott* came Jean's telepathic voice through the psychic rapport they shared. She had been scanning the  
area, trying to locate the mind imprints of the Acolytes at the base to see what they were up against,  
but with no luck. *Honey, I know you're nervous. I can sense it. But we'll be fine. We've done this   
before.*  
  
*Yes, but every time, it gets more dangerous, the stakes are higher. One day Magneto will want to play  
for keeps, and then where will we be?*  
  
Jean sighed. *Stop being so cynical, Scott* she teased.  
  
*How can I help it?* he joked back.  
  
And then they were there, hovering just above the military base, and Cyclops opened the hatch. "Okay,  
people, let's move!" he shouted, and they were off. The X-Men were going into battle.  
***  
As Rogue flew out of the Blackbird, carrying Wolverine by his arms, Warren trailing behind, she couldn't  
help but wonder. This was the umpteenth time they had done this, put themselves at risk and gone into  
battle blindly for the Dream. I must be crazy, she thought to herself. Or else stupidly brave.  
  
"C'mon darlin', we're almost there," Wolverine growled from below her. His muscles were tense, senses  
perked up. She could tell he was as anxious and excited as she was; battle always did that for them.  
"Dive bomb!" Wolverine yelled as Rogue let him go right above the thick of the battle already being fought  
by the rest of the team. She watched as he landed on one of the Kleinstocks, Sven, and proceeded to  
kick his butt.  
  
Rogue smiled to herself as she flew straight towards Joanna Cargil, an exceptionally strong mutant  
who was at present battling Iceman. "You can do better than that, Joanna!" Bobby taunted, as he encased  
her in a 5-foot-thick block of solid ice. Only her head was left free.  
  
"Doesn't look like you need mah help here, Bobby," Rogue said as she landed softly next to him.  
  
"DIE, X-Man!" Cargil screamed in fury, though at the moment Rogue didn't think she would be able to  
follow up on that threat. She was just about to open her mouth and deliver some nasty reply when she felt  
a burning sensation around her throat. She whirled around.  
  
"Senyaka," she choked, as the Acolyte's psionic whip tightened around her neck. Invulnerable though she  
was, she couldn't protect herself from the telepathically-generated weapon, and she was beginning to  
feel dizzy already.  
  
The Acolyte made no reply. He had never been very talkative during previous fights. Rogue thought he looked  
mysterious, almost frightening, under his cowl.  
  
"Come...ON, Senyaka," she gasped. "Your...lil' ol' psionic...whip ain't gonna...stop ME." She fell to  
her knees, attempting to pull at the whip and wrench it from his grasp, but she was greatly weakened,  
and the attempts were half-hearted.  
  
Bobby was still duking it out with Cargil, who had managed to break free of the ice, and he was in no  
position to be of any help. Rogue's vision went blurry, and she fell into unconsciousness.  
***  
"Rogue! NOOO!!!!" Gambit screamed as he saw her fall to the ground, yards away from where he was battling  
the other Kleinstock twin, Harlan. He threw a charged card straight at Harlan's chest, and the man  
went down.  
  
Gambit's heart was pounding as he raced toward Rogue's unconscious form. Around him, his teammates had their  
hands full trying to fend off Acolytes. Wolverine was now going against Amelia Voght, the redheaded  
teleporter who was Field Leader to the team, and Beast was attempting to take the massive Javits down.  
There were more of Magneto's followers than they'd expected. In fact, all of them were present except Exodus,  
Magneto's right hand and the guardian of his space station headquarters, Avalon.  
  
Gambit nearly ran headlong into Unuscione, who had stepped into his path a few feet from where Rogue lay.  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Cajun charmer," the woman sneered. "It's a pity I'm going to have to  
crush you with my exoskeleton, you're actually kind of cute."  
  
"Sorry, Carmela, we both know I'm spoken for," he answered smoothly, charging a card and flinging it at  
her. She easily deflected it with her psionic exoskeleton.  
  
"Oh, come on, Gambit, I know you can do better than that. At fighting AND at relationships," she  
nodded towards the unconscious Rogue, who was a few feet behind her.  
  
Remy's patience was wearing thin. Another minute, and Senyaka could kill Rogue. "Get out of de way," he  
growled dangerously, charging his bo staff and thrusting it at Unuscione. It broke through her exoskeleton,  
and she screamed in pain, temporarily disoriented. He rushed past her, and confronted Senyaka, who still  
held tightly to Rogue's throat with his whip.  
  
"Release her NOW, Senyaka, or I'll MAKE you," he said quietly. Senyaka said nothing.  
  
"Alright, den." Remy leaped into the air, kicking at Senyaka's cowled head, then hitting him in the stomach  
with his staff. The mutant stumbled backwards, and doubled over in pain as his psionic whip vanished.  
  
Gambit knelt by Rogue, cradling her in his arms and checking her pulse. She was still alive, but barely,  
and would be doing no more fighting for the day. He picked her up gently, flinging explosive cards at any  
opponent who dared get in the way. He was headed for the Blackbird, which was cloaked in the woods  
bordering the military base.  
  
"Hold on, ma cherie, Gambit's not gon' let you die." He ran, leaving the battlefield behind him.  
His teammates could handle what was left of the Acolytes. All that mattered was getting Rogue to safety.  
***  
"Oh give me a BREAK," Warren muttered to himself as he looked down on his opponent, the Acolyte called  
Fabian Cortez.  
  
"Come down and FIGHT, X-Man!" Cortez screamed from the ground below, taking potshots at Warren with his taser.  
Warren dodged them effortlessly, but he wondered how long he could keep it up before his wings got tired.  
  
"Nice, Cortez. A taser gun? What do you need that for? Oh...Oh YEAH, now I remember. Your power is pretty  
much useless against me," he said tauntingly. "If you try to amplify my powers, what'll happen? Will I grow  
bigger wings?"  
  
"Scoff all you want, Worthington, but the minute you get too tired to fly I'm going to fry you like an  
overgrown chicken."  
  
"Well, Cortez, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." He swooped down behind the man,  
faster than the speed of sound, and knocked him unconscious with his powerful wings, then landed on the  
ground to rest. "That chicken comment hurt."  
***  
"Surrender now, Wolverine, or I will teleport your head off of your body. Think your healing factor can  
repair THAT?" Amelia Voght said, trying to sound menacing.  
  
Wolverine only snorted. "That means you'll have to get near me. And I'd like to see you try n' be  
faster'n these," he held up his foot-long claws, which glinted in the sun.  
  
He enjoyed the obvious look of terror on Voght's face. He knew she was afraid of him. And the best part was,  
he could smell her fear.  
***  
"Rogue...mon Dieu...Rogue!" Gambit sat next to the meditable he had placed Rogue on. She looked so  
beautiful just lying there, her auburn hair around her shoulders and a peaceful look on her face. If not  
for the ugly red welt around her beautiful throat...anger rose up in him like a volcano erupting. Remy  
LeBeau was a dangerous man. He would feed Senyaka's whip to him the next time they met. The next time. For  
now he had to watch his fallen teammate.  
***  
Cyclops looked around the battlefield. All but two of the Acolytes had been teleported back to Avalon by  
Voght, in a hasty attempt to retreat. The X-Men had won the day. They had won the battle, but they were far  
from winning the war.  
  
Voght shimmered into existence a few yards in front of him, and she picked up Cortez, still knocked out.  
Then she turned to him. "You have won for today, Cyclops, but you have merely delayed the inevitable.  
Lord Magneto will triumph in the end. Your mentor's dream is nothing but that, a dream. An impossible dream."  
  
She held onto the hand of Javits, who stood next to her, and the three Acolytes were gone.  
  
Scott called his teammates. "X-Men, to the Blackbird. I think we're done here, people." They smiled wearily.  
  
"Finally! I thought we wouldn't be back in time for Friends!" Bobby joked. No one laughed, though. They  
were all too tired or too subdued to reply.  
***  
The Blackbird took off in a cloud of dust, rising into the air and facing east. With Scott at the controls  
and Beast right beside him, the rest of the team tucked safely in the passenger area, everyone felt relieved  
that the battle had gone so well. Except Gambit.  
  
"I should've been there sooner! Dis my fault, mon ami!" Gambit said savagely as Warren sat down beside him.  
He was next to Rogue's meditable, holding her hand gently and watching her breathe in and out.   
  
"This is not your fault, Gambit. We watch each other's backs, sure, but we can't do it ALL the time. Things  
happen. She'll be alright."  
  
"How can you say dat?? How can you be so sure? What if somet'ing like dis happened to Betsy, would you be  
as calm as you are now?" he challenged Warren. There was fire in his eyes as he spoke.  
  
Warren thought for a moment. "No, no I wouldn't, Remy. But I can imagine what you're going through, and blaming  
yourself won't help Rogue at all." He got up and went back to his seat next to Jean. Gambit stayed silent,  
brooding. He would give anything to have Rogue back to normal again. They were nearing Westchester now,  
and the sun was slowly setting over the lake. It would've been a beautiful scene, a glorious homecoming  
for the X-Men. But all this was lost on Gambit. He could only feel pain.  
***  
"He hasn't slept in two days, Beast, what are we going to do with him?" Jean spoke quietly with her old friend  
outside the hospital wing. She was worried, very worried, about Remy. He hadn't left Rogue's side since they  
had come back from the Colorado mission, and she could sense his sorrow at every waking moment.   
  
"Remy is going through depression, Jean. Nothing, short of Rogue waking up, will cheer him. I think it best  
that we wait this out, let him get over it by himself. Judging by her vital signs, she will be up and about by  
this time tomorrow, I promise. For now we should leave Remy alone. He will not have it otherwise."  
  
Jean opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again and shrugged. "Okay. Okay, Hank, I'll try  
not to meddle. I think it's the maternal instinct in me." She allowed herself a small smile.  
  
Hank grinned at her. "Yes, Jean, it probably is. You certainly do have that in large quantities."  
***  
"G'mornin', Sunshine." Gambit's face lit up with the first smile he'd had in days. Rogue was awake, and  
the minute he'd seen those eyelids flutter and seen the sparkle in those green eyes, he'd felt his heart  
lift from the depths of the Abyss to the Gates of Heaven themselves.   
  
"Remy...wha-what happened to me?" She tried to sit up, but Beast, who was on the other side of the bed,  
pushed her back down.  
  
"No, no, you shouldn't exert yourself, Rogue. You'll be able to get up in a few days, but now you need  
your rest."  
  
"Rogue! Mon Dieu, I thought you'd never wake up...Senyaka had dat whip around your neck for minutes."   
  
She smiled. "Ah'm not that easy to kill, Cajun. So how long have ah been out, exactly?"  
  
"3 days. We won, you know. Stopped de Acolytes." Rogue frowned.  
  
"Ah should've been there fighting beside you guys. Ah'm goin' to FEED Senyaka's whip to him next time  
we meet!" Gambit hid a grin. THAT sounded familiar.  
  
"Ah, it looks like we have the old Rogue back again," Jean said as she entered the room. "Rogue, sweetie,  
it's good to see you're okay. We had the whole team worried about you, not least of which was Gambit here.  
He's been beside that bed the whole time."  
  
Rogue looked at Gambit and smiled, but said nothing. It didn't need to be said. It was understood.  
***  
Author's Note: There ya go! I'm sorry, the ending was a bit crappy, but I needed to end it SOMEhow!  
Please review  
  
  
  
  
  



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